#1 Farmingdale State - 4, #4 Merchant Marine - 1
Farmingdale, N.Y. - In the first game of the double-elimination portion of the Skyline Conference Baseball Championship, top-seeded Farmingdale State defeated #4 U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, 4-1. The Rams next will play #2 St. Joseph's-Long Island in the first game tomorrow at noon.
After Merchant Marine (25-13) senior right fielder Jacob Sithong (Orlando, Fla.) led off the game with a triple to right field, junior shortstop Jesse Reinebold (Granger, Ind.) hit a groundball to FSC second baseman Tyler Schrimpf (Miller Place, N.Y.) who threw out the runner trying to score at home plate to keep the game scoreless.
The game remained 0-0 until the bottom of the fifth inning when Farmingdale State (24-12) senior catcher Kenneth Johntry (Yaphank, N.Y.) led off with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a wild pitch. The next batter, junior right fielder Joseph Roche (Westbury, N.Y.), hit a ground ball to first base but was able to reach on a fielder's choice as Johntry scored. A ground out, a hit by pitch and a walk loaded the bases for freshman third baseman Jake Jacobs (Commack, N.Y.), who hit a two-run single to center to give the Rams a 3-0 lead.
Merchant Marine got a run back in the top of the sixth as junior left fielder Zack Winzer (Muskegon, Mich.) hit an RBI single which scored junior third baseman Tyler Mowry (Peachtree, Ga.) and cut the deficit to 3-1. In the bottom half of the inning, senior third baseman Nicholas Soriano (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an RBI single from senior center fielder Brandon Ernest (Owings, MD) as the Rams regained a three-run advantage.
Over the final three innings, FSC junior pitcher Matthew Constantine (West Babylon, N.Y.) did not allow a hit as Farmingdale State won the game, 4-1.
Ernest ended with a game-high three hits to go along with one run batted in. Jacobs went 2-for-4 with two RBI's and both Soriano and Roche each tallied a hit and scored a run.
Constantine (5-1) pitched seven innings in relief, allowing only one run on six hits to earn his fifth win of the season.
Mowry led the Mariners with two hits and a run scored, while Winzer and senior center fielder Michael Barnes (Alexandria, Va.) each had one hit and a walk.
Merchant Marine freshman pitcher Joe Raab (Edwardsburgh, Mich.) (7-3) took the complete game loss, giving up four runs in eight innings of work.
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